Co-designed with low-end professor and tone connoisseur Ian Martin Allison, the MXR Bass Synth will turn your bass into a filthy funk machine, delivering a range of monophonic synth tones that call back to hits from Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Parliament Funkadelic, and more. This pedal is ready made for intergalactic grooves, capturing vintage analog-style vibes with killer tracking and sustain to serve up thunderous sub-octave, expressive envelope, and lush modulation effects with the flexibility and control that modern players demand.
A full, player-friendly suite of controls allows you to shape not just the aforementioned effects but every other detail of your bass synth tone: blend dry and wet signals, sculpt filter sweeps from rubber-band bounce to syrupy slow-motion, adjust filter cutoff and resonance for extra punch, switch between triangle, sawtooth, or square waveforms, and add harmonically rich oscillators for more complex textures.
Or you can skip straight to the groove with eight presets that Ian crafted, inspired by iconic tracks from Michael Jackson, Herbie Hancock, Peter Gabriel, and more. And for tone chasers who love to dive deep, the Bass Synth offers advanced parameters, stereo capability, and flexible rig integration to take your sound anywhere you want it to go.
Whether you’re replicating pop hits in a cover band, holding down the low end at church, or touring the world, this pedal gives you instant synth bass magic. Get down on the one with the MXR Bass Synth.
“Over the years, I have tended to make synth sounds either with individual pedals or with blocks in a multi-FX unit, and while those sounds can be super cool and get close to legit synth sounds, the MXR Bass Synth gets closer and, in some cases, even totally indistinguishable from an incredible keys rig,” Ian says. “We worked tirelessly to make this thing as perfect as we possibly could—to tweak every single parameter, to get every aspect of how the knobs turned and what effects they controlled just right—and especially the latency and tracking. I wouldn’t relent until we got it perfect. This is perfect.”
MXR Bass Synth highlights:
Intergalactic grooves and vintage analog-style vibes reminiscent of your favorite funk hits
Designed in collaboration with Ian Martin Allison
Thunderous sub-octave, expressive envelope, and lush modulation effects
Killer tracking and sustain
Eight different presets to plug you straight into the groove
Three different waveforms, additional oscillators, tap and expression control, and more
Availability
The MXR Bass Synth is available now at $269.99 street from your favorite retailer.
Following the successful launch of itsGold Label Collection in January 2025, Taylor Guitars, a leading global builder of premium acoustic guitars, today announces the expansion of the collection with a suite of new Gold Label Grand Pacific models. The new models mark the second wave of guitar models in Taylor's exploration of warm, heritage-inspired acoustic flavors, featuring Taylor master builder Andy Powers' reimagined Grand Pacific body shape, a round-shoulder dreadnought, now with a deeper body design that delivers enhanced sonic fullness and low-end expansiveness.
Gold Label Grand Pacific: Deeper Body, Deeper Sound
The new Gold Label models feature a Grand Pacific body that's 3/8-inch deeper than Taylor’s standard Grand Pacific design, giving these guitars extra "lung capacity" and a deeper resonant frequency. This translates into more low-end power and projection — providing greater sonic push toward an audience or microphone while maintaining pleasing musical clarity. Even the treble notes have enhanced warmth and depth.
The Grand Pacific bodies are voiced with Taylor’s proprietary Fanned V-ClassTM bracing architecture — exclusive to the Gold Label Collection — a new variant of its award-winning V-Class bracing platform that here adds midrange richness, enhances the sonic depth, and creates the pitch accuracy that V-Class is known for. While Fanned V-Class is also used to voice the Super Auditorium body style that made its debut as part of the original Gold Label launch in January, the Gold Label Grand Pacific leans even more toward a warm, powerful sound.
"Compared to the Super Auditorium body, the curves and depth of the Grand Pacific produce even more volume and tonal dimension," says Andy Powers, Taylor's Chief Guitar Designer, President and CEO. "Its voice is earthy, honest and uncomplicated. It’s a reliable acoustic workhorse — both seasoned and soulful."
The mahogany/torrefied spruce pairing produces a woody, warm voice with focused midrange character. The Indian rosewood/torrefied spruce combination delivers lush rosewood depth and complexity with enhanced warmth from the torrefied top. All models feature gloss-finish bodies.
Distinctive Gold Label Aesthetic
Fitting into the distinctive design aesthetic of the Gold Label Collection, all Grand Pacific models feature Andy Powers' modified headstock shape with an angled back cut and script-style Taylor logo inlay, a different pickguard shape, and a Honduran rosewood Curve Wing bridge. Clean, understated appointments reflect a down-to-earth, workhorse spirit, including:
"Crest" inlay motif in cream featuring simple dot/diamond position markers in the fretboard crowned with a new headstock inlay
Cream binding with simple black/white top purfling and a single-ring rosette in cream and black with black/white purfling
Taylor Deluxe Hardshell Case with "British Cocoa" vinyl exterior
Revolutionary Action Control Neck™ Technology
All Gold Label Grand Pacific models feature Taylor's patented Action Control Neck™, which combines the tonal benefits of a long-tenon neck joint with unprecedented ease of instant string height adjustment. The long tenon extends deeper into the guitar body and, together with the heel structure, enhances the wood coupling to produce greater low-end resonance and a sound comparable to traditional neck designs.
Unlike Taylor's existing neck design that incorporates tapered shims to calibrate the neck angle, the Action Control Neck™ is shimless. The string height can be adjusted in seconds by using a quarter-inch nut driver (or standard truss rod wrench) on a bolt in the neck block, accessible inside the soundhole. Neither the neck nor the strings need to be removed to make adjustments.
"The design serves players by allowing them to adjust their string height for different playing styles, applications or climate conditions as often as they like," added Powers.
Street pricing for the new Gold Label models are as follows:
Gold Label 517e - $2,599
Gold Label 517e Blacktop - $2,799
Gold Label 517e SB - $2,799
Gold Label 717e - $2,799
Gold Label 717e SB - $2,999
Gold Label 717e Blacktop - $2,999
For more information on the Gold Label Collection and more, visit taylorguitars.com.
Epiphone introduces the Jeff Beck 1954 Oxblood Les Paul, a tribute to the iconic guitar immortalized on the cover of Jeff Beck's groundbreaking album. Featuring Gibson USA pickups, solid wood construction, and premium electronics, this limited edition guitar is a must-have for fans and collectors alike.
For over 150 years, Epiphone has been a leading innovator in instrument design. By leveraging its iconic past and leaning into the future, Epiphone has set the stage for the next era of sound for present and future generations. Epiphone’s game-changing Inspired by Gibson Custom Collection, developed in close collaboration with the skilled luthiers at Gibson Custom Shop in Nashville, Tennessee, continues to expand, establishing a new tier of premium Epiphones for every stage. Featuring Gibson USA pickups and premium electronics, world-renowned Gibson “open book” headstocks, solid wood construction, and one-piece necks, Epiphone’s Inspired by Gibson Custom Collection brings Gibson Custom designs to the masses, adding to Epiphone’s full array of instruments for all player levels.
Today, Epiphone is proud to introduce the JeffBeck1954OxbloodLesPaul from Epiphone, an Inspired by Gibson Custom recreation of one of the most famous guitars in history–JeffBeck’s famous Oxblood, the heavily modified 1954LesPaul that was immortalized on the cover of his groundbreaking 1975 album Blow by Blow. The world-famous guitar is now available worldwide at Authorized Epiphone dealers, the Gibson Garage in Nashville and London, and online via epiphone.com.
“Bringing the Epiphone version of the infamous ‘Oxblood’ LesPaul to life was something JeffBeck wanted, and the team has now truly delivered,” says Lee Bartram, Head of Commercial and Marketing EMEA at Gibson. “Making this guitar accessible to a wider market was important to Jeff and his family; this Epiphone guitar turned out truly exceptional and is a worthy tribute to the legacy of a legend.”
In the minds of many of his fellow guitarists, as well as those of countless fans, JeffBeck remains one of the finest players ever to pick up the instrument. From his early work with the Yardbirds to his work with the JeffBeck Group, Beck, Bogert & Appice, as a session musician and throughout his solo career, JeffBeck was one of the most influential lead guitarists of all time. A guitarist’s guitarist and sonic innovator, Beck was a master of genres who played rock, blues, hard rock, and jazz fusion, and helped popularize the use of feedback, fuzz pedals, and distortion, influencing countless players to this day with his inimitable style. An eight-time GRAMMY® Award winner, including six times for Best Rock Instrumental Performance, JeffBeck also received the Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music. He was also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice: as a member of the Yardbirds and as a solo artist.
Known to millions as the Oxblood due to its unique chocolate brown/oxblood finish, JeffBeck’s heavily modified 1954LesPaul™ was immortalized on the cover of Blow by Blow, his groundbreaking first solo album. This past January, the original Oxblood recently sold at auction for a record-setting $1.3 million. In 2009, Gibson Custom first recreated the Oxblood in a limited edition run of only 50 aged guitars, which collectors still highly value. Now, Epiphone, in collaboration with Gibson Custom, is immensely proud to introduce the JeffBeckOxblood1954LesPaul™, based on his iconic 1954LesPaul. It features a mahogany body with a maple cap, a one-piece mahogany neck with a long neck tenon and a JeffBeck Custom Large C neck profile, a rosewood fretboard with 22 medium jumbo frets and aged mother-of-pearl trapezoid inlays, and a Gibson “open book” style headstock with an Epiphone logo inlaid in aged mother-of-pearl. The headstock is equipped with a low-friction Graph Tech® nut and Schaller M6 90 tuning machines. It is powered by a pair of USA-made Gibson Custombucker humbucker™ pickups that are connected to CTS® potentiometers and Mallory capacitors using 50s-style wiring. Other thoughtfully considered details are included to match the original guitar, including gold Speed knobs, a LesPaul pickguard with a gap above the bridge pickup, and a Gibson Historic Wraparound bridge. It comes packaged in an Epiphone hardshell guitar case with Inspired by Gibson Custom graphics and includes a vintage-style replica strap. The EpiphoneJeffBeckOxblood1954LesPaul is available for a limited time, so do not miss this rare opportunity to own an accessible tribute to one of the world’s most famous, cherished, and valuable electric guitars and the master instrumentalist who made it famous–JeffBeck.
Jackson is launching theX Series Surfcaster SC HT6 and SC HT7, and the JS Series Surfcaster JS22 HT: blending vintage appeal with thoroughly modern appointments for the ultimate modern metal machines. Featuring an Offset poplar body, High-output Jacksonhumbucker, and Jackson’s robust hardtail bridge to keep tuning stable and setup perfect.
X Series Surfcaster SC HT6
JS Series Surfcaster JS22 HT is available in Gloss Black and Snow White.
X Series Surfcaster SC HT7 is a 7-string model available in Metallic Black while the SC HT6 is a 6 string model available in Satin Black.
Line 6, Inc. has introduced the Helix® Stadium Family of products. Leveraging powerful DSP and the entirely new Agoura™ modeling methodology, they deliver extraordinary sound and responsiveness, a sophisticated yet intuitive user interface, and unparalleled control capabilities. The Helix Stadium Family includes the Helix Stadium XL Floor and Helix Stadium Floor processors, the Expand D10 digital I/O expansion unit (VDI, L6 LINK™, and other connectivity), the EX2™ expression pedal/toe switch, and the Helix Stadium Backpack.
"Helix Stadium XL Floor and Helix Stadium Floor are in many ways a new type of product,” said Eric Klein, Chief Product Design Architect. “In addition to featuring the best-sounding, most powerful, and most flexible processing Line 6 has ever offered, they can serve as performance workstations that aim to upend the way you approach playing—whether that’s writing and learning songs, jamming with friends, or controlling your band’s entire stage rig. And most of all, they’re fun to use.”
The flagship Helix Stadium XL Floor and the streamlined Helix Stadium Floor feature high-resolution 8" touch screens, high-contrast OLED scribble strips (XL only), the ability to morph between ultra-authentic and idealized amp sounds with a single control, 8-channel audio interfaces, Matrix cue mixers, and Showcase™ automation and playback engines that enable them to serve as the centerpiece of entire stage setups.
Whether you are a current Helix owner seeking to further your sonic adventure (your Helix/HX® presets can be loaded into Helix Stadium), or you are considering upgrading from another modeler, or even if you are a traditional amp and effects player intrigued by the convenience and nearly unlimited tone-crafting possibilities offered by multi-effects—Helix Stadium can help you realize your musical vision.
Pricing
U.S. customers can expect to see advertised prices starting at $1799.99 USD for Helix Stadium Floor, $2199.99 USD for Helix Stadium XL Floor, $219.99 USD for Expand D10, $149.99 USD for EX2, and $249.99 USD for the Helix Stadium Backpack. For customers outside the U.S., please contact your local Line 6 retailer for pricing information.
Availability
Starting on June 25th, you can reserve your Helix Stadium online and in stores. Helix Stadium XL Floor will be available Fall 2025, and Helix Stadium Floor in Winter 2025.
We continuously work with our retailers in the U.S. and in international markets to ensure our customers have experiences that reflect the quality of the Yamaha Guitar Group, Inc. brands. To protect our retailers’ ability to offer top-of-the-line customer service and education, Yamaha Guitar Group, Inc. unilaterally established a minimum advertised pricing (MAP) policy for the advertisement of certain Yamaha Guitar Group, Inc. products by its retailers in the U.S.
MXR Bass Synth Serves Up Intergalactic Grooves & Vintage Analog-Style Vibes
